Honey-Sesame Dressing (and a salad to go with it)

The other day I was looking for a recipe for a salad that had oranges in it. I came across this one on the Vegetarian Times website. It is a great salad, but what I liked most about it was the wonderfully tasty and easy to prepare dressing. It is versatile - I used some on a quinoa bowl the next day - and it really captures the flavour of the dressing at our favourite Japanese restaurants. I've changed two things from the original recipe. I changed the oil from vegetable to canola, but you are welcome to use any light oil you have on hand. (That's another great thing about this recipe. It uses ingredients I pretty much always have in the house.) I also suggest cutting up rather than sectioning the oranges. I like small juicy chunks of orange in a salad as opposed to what can often be rather ugly sections. The best way to cut the oranges in my view is to slice off the peel as close to the orange as possible on all sides, then cut the orange into chunks.

Spinach and Orange Salad with Almonds and Honey-Sesame Dressing

¼ c slivered almonds, toasted
5 oz baby spinach (6 cups)
2 large oranges, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tbsp sesame seeds

¼ c honey
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp dark sesame oil

Arrange spinach on a platter. Top with orange sections and almonds.

Blend honey, vinegar, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes in food processor. Pour in canola oil and sesame oils, and blend until smooth. Drizzle 1/4 cup Honey-Sesame Dressing over salad, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Genius Baked Brown Rice

I'm so glad that our cookbook book club reviewed Food 52's Genius Recipes. This book contains many of what have become go-to recipes in our house. So I don't lose track of this one amidst the ever-expanding sea of cookbooks at my house, I'm adding it to the blog. This technique for cooking brown rice is easy and works every time. The best thing about it is that you do not have to pay it any attention, so you can get on with overseeing homework, socializing with guests, or preparing other parts of the meal.

Baked Brown Rice

1 1/2 c medium or short grained brown rice
2 1/2 c water
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375F.
Pour rice into an 8 inch square glass baking dish.
Bring water, butter, and salt to a boil in a covered saucepan. Pour it over the rice, stir, and cover tightly with foil.
Bake for 1 hour. Uncover, fluff with a fork, and serve.

Serves 4-6.